The Faculty Lounge

Were $666 Law Faculty Raises A Satanic Threat?

You can't make this stuff up.  Cleveland State Law gave several faculty members $666 raises.  Some of these individuals filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint with the Ohio State Employment Relations Board claiming that they had been given these raises because of of their efforts to organize a faculty union. They could have had a more potent claim, perhaps, if the complaint did not state that this was a veiled threat because  "in effect Dean Boise has called AAUP's labor organizers and AAUP Satan."

I'm not sure what's weirder: this claim or the coverage of the formerly respectable Cleveland Plain Dealer,  which reported that "the number 666 is universally considered evil and a symbol of the antichrist or the devil."

Of course, we could also debate the merits of the dean's basis for allocating raises.  According to the Plain Dealer - I couldn't confirm this independently - the dean  based pay raises on "a three part forumla incorporating  scholarship and scholarly influence (40 percent), teaching as measured by student evaluations (40 percent), and service through committee work (20 percent)."  Really: student evaluations as the sole source of data on teaching quality?  

The case was dismissed yesterday.

What is it with Ohio and Satanic 666's?

H/T Paul Caron.

Jim Rosenblatt Stepping Down As Dean Of Mississippi College of Law

Dean Jim Rosenblatt, who has lead the Mississippi College of Law since 2003, will be stepping down in August 2014.  He will return to the faculty.  In addition to his day-to-day job leading a law school, he maintains a database of all law school deans here.

Case Western Law Names Co-Acting-Deans

Michael Scharf and Jessica Berg have been named c0-Acting Deans of Case Western University School of Law.  

Now move along.  There's nothing to see  here.

Update: As Sharona Hoffman notes in comments, my post incorrectly called them interim deans.  The letter from the provost actually calls them acting deans.  I mistakenly relied on the reporting of the student-run newspaper at CWRU Law.  

Wilder, Ebony and Ivy

Jennifer  Schuelsser had an excellent article on Craig Wilder's Ebony and Ivy in the New York Times recently.  The book is a great capstone to work that's been done on a lot of different schools -- from Harvard and Brown, down to William and Mary, UNC, and Alabama.  And it covers a lot of ground, from the financing of schools using profits made from slavery, to the presence of enslaved people on campuses, to the ideas about racial hierarchy that were promoted at schools.  And while a lot of Wilder's focus is on the founding of schools in the eighteenth century, he also brings the story down into the nineteenth century.  What I really like about Ebony and Ivy is that it links many parts of slavery to the story of slavery to colleges.  Ebony and Ivy's focus on the north means that this is a story that seems unusual.  Of course in the south one ought to expect the colleges will support slavery -- in Boston, Hanover, and Providence a less so.

Not only is this a capstone to a lot of work that's been done, it had a lot of new information that hasn't been published before.  There's a lot here on the origins of the fortunes of many early supporters of colleges, as well as the ideas on those campuses.  This is also an invitation to yet more work on colleges and slavery.  Ebony and Ivy leads to more questions about the content of proslavery (and anti-slavery ideas) at colleges.  And for me there's the question of how ideas flowed between newspapers, the pulpit, and legislative halls and colleges (and vice versa).

The image is of the colonnade at Washington and Lee (what was Washington College before the Civil War), which figures in Ebony and Ivy.

Obama's "Fix" of Obamacare

The President has announced that persons who had health insurance in 2013 that did not meet the minimum coverage standards of the ACA may continue that coverage for 2014.  WSJ news article here (paywall protected).  NYT article is here.  But this gambit depends on state insurance regulators approving new plans that mimic the cancelled plans, and on insurers deciding to offer those plans.  Nor is there any certainty that such revivied plans would carry the same premium cost as the old plans.  The biggest problem, however, is that the President proposes, by executive order, to waive the minimum coverage requirements of the ACA for some consumers.  I am not an expert in the minutiae of the ACA but I doubt that the President has statutory authority to waive this substantive element of the ACA.  An executive order is thus likely unconstitutional.  Cf. The Steel Seizure Case.  The President needs to work with Congress to change the law.  Acceptance of the Upton plan would be a good start.  (The Landrieu plan, which would force insurers to offer the cancelled plans in 2014 and compel state regulators to approve those plans, suffers from the constitutional infirmity of compelling state executive officials to enforce federal law.  See Printz v. United States.) 

Wayne State And Nova Southeastern Law Schools Seek Deans

Wayne State's announcement is here.

Nova Southeastern's  is here.

Wayne State Interim Dean Jocelyn Benson Considers House Run

Wayne State University School of Law Interim Dean Jocelyn Benson is considering a run for the House seat in Michigan's 11th Congressional District.  Benson, a Democrat who joined the Wayne State faculty in 2005, is founder and executive director of the Michigan Center for Election Law.  She ran unsuccessfully for Michigan Secretary of State in 2010, the same year she published her book State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process.  

Last Call For Supreme Court Fellow Applications

They're due November 15.  More information is here.

Jacquelyn Bridgeman Named Interim Dean Of Wyoming Law

Jacquelyn Bridgeman, who has served as associate dean of the University of Wyoming College of Law since 2010, has been named interim dean of the law school.  She is a graduate of the University of Chicago law school and joined the Wyoming faculty in 2002.

Interesting Blogging On The New York Stop And Frisk Litigation Fiasco

My colleague Anil Kalhan, as well as Mike Dorf, have had some interesting posts recently following the bizzaro unfolding of the high profile New York  stop and frisk litigation.  For those who haven't been following it, Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that New York's stop and frisk policy was improperly using racial profiles.  On appeal, a three judge panel on the Second Circuit rapidly issued an order staying the decision and removing Judge Scheindlin from the case (although neither party had requested this remedy or briefed the issue.)  Anil's posts are here and here and Mike's is here.  The Second Circuit panel was Cabranes, Walker and Parker.

Kentucky Law Seeks Distinguished Visitor

This just in:

The University of Kentucky College of Law seeks applications and nominations for the James and Mary Lassiter Endowed Distinguished Visiting Professor for one semester of the 2014-15 academic year. The Lassiter Distinguished Visiting Professor recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in his or her field and is not limited by subject matter.

Applicants or nominees should have a record of scholarly excellence and of strong classroom teaching. The Lassiter Distinguished Visitor will teach one or two courses and will be encouraged to present workshops on research and participate broadly in the intellectual life of the College of Law.

Contingent on funding availability, the Lassiter Distinguished Visitor may also organize a conference on a topic of interest to the visitor. The University of Kentucky College of Law is committed to diversifying its community and consequently welcomes expressions of interest from, or nominations of, professors who contribute to that diversity.

The University of Kentucky is an equal opportunity campus and encourages any candidates who will contribute to the excellence of the academic community through their research, teaching, and service. Review of candidates will begin upon receipt. Expressions of interest and nominations should be submitted no later than January 20, 2014 and should be directed to Professor Chris Frost. 

One Traffic Stop-Turned-Anal Probe Is a Nightmare; Two Is a Coincidence? Three Is a Pattern?

Just when you thought David Eckert's ordeal had to be a one-off incident comes news of (1) a second, similar lawsuit filed against the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office, and (2) allegations (and an impending lawsuit) from a woman who characterizes as sexual assault the repeated, invasive, ultimately fruitless — and warrantless — search of her person by federal agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and doctors at University Medical Center of El Paso, Texas (just across the New Mexico border and not far from Hidalgo County).

Second Lawsuit: Young v. Hidalgo County et al.

The second lawsuit was filed on Friday on behalf of Timothy Young, who, like Eckert, is represented by the Kennedy Law Firm (which says it has been receiving still other calls from individuals with similar stories). Young’s case interacts in interesting ways with Eckert’s. Recall that the first of two traffic stops that Eckert has sued over reportedly took place on September 6, 2012 at around 6:26 pm. Eckert says he was stopped by an officer (Rodriguez) from the Hidalgo County Sherriff’s Office for having a cracked windshield and ordered to exit his vehicle because, the officer said, his hands were shaking. The officer wrote him a warning for the windshield and told Eckert he was free to go but continued to interrogate him about what he had been doing and whether he had illegal drugs in his car. Eckert says that Rodriguez then “seized” the car and called K-9 Officer Green and K-9 Luis “Leo” Duffmar to the scene, where Leo apparently alerted to Eckert’s car. The complaint alleges that a search warrant was obtained for Eckert’s car on September 7, but yielded nothing.

In his complaint, Young alleges as follows: On October 13, 2012, around 9:42 pm, he had just pulled into a gas station and begun pumping gas when Officer Peru, of the Hidalgo County Sherriff’s Office — “with several other police vehicles as back up” — “initiated a pre-textual traffic stop" against Young, “falsely asserting that [Young] failed to use a turn signal.” Peru commented that Young looked nervous and that his hands and legs were shaking. Peru began asking Young about his activities that day and about tires in the bed of his truck before noticing that Young’s passenger had an open container.

Peru asked Young to consent to a search of his vehicle based on the nervousness and open container, and said that if Young didn’t consent, that he would only be detained longer while officers obtained a warrant. Young reluctantly consented. Peru noted in the police report that he suspected that Young was under the influence of narcotics because he looked “jittery,” licked his lips, and took his hat off and put it back on. Peru asked Officer Arredondo to call for a K-9 unit, and Green and Leo responded to the scene around 10:30 pm. Leo allegedly alerted to the center of the driver’s seat, the center console, and the left open door of the vehicle. Officers conducted “several searches” of the vehicle but turned up nothing. Around 11 pm, Young withdrew his consent and asked if he could go. Officers said no and continued to search the vehicle.

Andrea Lyon Named Dean Of Valpo Law

Valparaiso University Law School has named DePaul University Professor Andrea Lyon as its new dean.  She will take over in June, 2014.  Lyon, a clinical professor of law and associate dean of clinical programs, is director of DePaul's Center for Justice in Capital Cases.  She is very well known in death penalty advocacy circles.  Lyon holds a JD from Antioch School of Law.

Lyon succeeds Jay Conison, who (as chair of the accreditation committee) was a key participant in the ABA's efforts to update law school accreditation guidelines.  Conison is now the dean of Charlotte Law School. 

Wyoming Law Dean Resigns In Protest And Things Get Testy

I've fallen behind a bit on this story.  About two weeks ago, Wyoming Law Dean Stephen Easton resigned in protest, after the University convened a task force (over his objection, and without his consultation) to evaluate the law school.  On Friday, Wyoming President Bob Sternberg held a town hall for law students, faculty and alums to explain his view of what was going on.  But former Dean Easton stood up to make his case that university was mistreating the law school.  Sounds like this meeting got a bit wild and wooly.

And all of this excitement in the midst of an ABA site inspection year!

Professor Ted Ruger On Senator Ted Cruz

Penn law professor Ted Ruger had this to say about his Harvard Law classmate, Senator Ted Cruz:

"He never really had an off switch with his debater’s demeanor,” said Ted Ruger, who was president of the Harvard Law Review during Cruz’s third year. “We just realized that was the way a discussion with Ted was going to go. If you expected something different, you came away shaking your head.”

Follow the link above to learn more about the Ted Cruz Harvard Law Experience.

Guest Post from Mark Levin on Typhoon Haiyan

The following is a guest post from Mark Levin of the University of Hawaii Law School:

The world is of course watching the Philippines struggling in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda in the Philippines).  Our colleague here at the University of Hawai'i, Dr. Diane Desierto, is watching even more intently as Tacloban is the home of much of her extended family. 

Diane has quickly written and published an important op-ed that powerfully expresses how, despite the fact that the damage was caused in the first instance by forces of nature, human actions and inactions, and public policy choices, have made worse the nature and scale of the harms that resulted.  

Diane's op-ed was published in the national news service in the Philippines and can be found online here. 

Some Faculty Lounge readers may be fortunate enough to know Diane -- she is a strong writer who does not mince words.  While immediately responding to the immediate circumstances, this piece sadly resonates for too many communities that have happened to be be in harm's way of natural forces. 

Of course, everyone moves with their own manners, but just as many of us opened up our hearts and our pocketbooks with disasters at home and elsewhere in recent years, there will certainly be great need for help here as well.

 

Prince George County Courthouse

On the drive back to Chapel Hill from Williamsburg I passed the Prince George County Courthouse.  This is the post-Civil War Courthouse (they have a new one now).  The antebellum courthouse was burned during the War.  That explains a lot about why there are no court records from Prince George County -- so we'll never know a lot of the details of the prosecutions in the wake of the Nat Turner rebellion.

Phoenix Law School Changes Its Name

Out with the old, in with the new.  Infilaw has renamed its Phoenix outlet, what was formerly the Phoenix School of Law, the Arizona Summit Law School.  According to the linked news account, the fall 1L class at the school is  down 48% from 380 students to 197 students.  The ABA law school data from last year, howver, indicated that there were 508 1L's at the law school - perhaps reflecting multiple start dates.  You can't help but wonder whether, if fall enrollments are down 48%, total 1L numbers will be even lower.  

In any case, last year the school had a median LSAT of 145.  I wonder whether the school has managed to hold that number by reducing class size. 

When I suggested that declines in LSAT's might require radical restructuring of law schools, I hadn't even dreamed of name switching as one option. 

H/T Paul Caron

Case Western Law Dean Lawrence Mitchell Takes Leave Of Absence

I won't repeat all the allegations contained in the lawsuit against him, but sufice to say that matters in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas are proving to be a distraction for Dean Lawrence Mitchell and he has taken a paid leave of absence.  Read more here.

Why the Pending Nuke Deal with Iran is a Bad Deal

In the Foreign Policy Initiative, Robert Zarate details why the pending deal is not advantageous to the rest of the world.  His article is here.